Breaking Down How Lincoln Kienholz, Julian Sayin and Tavien St. Clair Performed in Ohio State's 2025 Spring Game

Whether it was due to the fact that he's the most experienced quarterback on the roster or there was another reason, Kienholz got the start to begin the spring game. It came days after Ryan Day admitted that the soon-to-be junior quarterback and Sayin were "pretty much neck-and-neck" in the competition to be Ohio State's QB1 in 2025, a statement that seemed to be much more sincere than just coachspeak.

While going against basic coverages throughout the majority of the game, each of the three quarterbacks showed glimpses of good quarterback play, with Sayin showcasing that in the first half and Kienholz and St. Clair doing so in the second half, as the latter seemed to settle in and showed off his arm talent in the final two quarters of the game.

But the most important thing was that each of the three received plenty of reps, which is important for the development of that quarterback room as a whole.

"I think it's just a matter of playing the game. And that's why I think we've talked about this this spring," Day said about playing all three quarterbacks as much as OSU did in the spring game. "As the spring has gone on, I've just realized that at all positions, but most importantly at quarterback, we have to continue to play 11-on-11 football. And you can see the growth. You saw some growth even in the short amount of time that you guys were able to watch some of the practice this spring."

"We have the ability to watch them on a daily basis, see them grow. And I wish I could say we need to get better at 1, 2, and 3, but I know we just need to play football with these guys. We're young. We have a lot to work on. But I will say there was growth today."

Sayin, though, received more passing reps than the other two quarterbacks, a majority of which came in the first half. The three quarterbacks combined to complete 40-of-60 passes for 465 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions on Saturday.

“I wish I could say we need to get better at 1, 2, and 3, but I know we just need to play football with these guys. We're young. We have a lot to work on. But I will say there was growth today.”– Ryan Day on the quarterbacks’ performance in the spring game

We charted each of the 60 passes thrown by Ohio State's quarterbacks in the spring game, with a disclaimer that spring game stats are unofficial and may vary from other outlets. (Note: Each passing chart is categorized by how many yards the quarterback threw the ball in the air past the line of scrimmage on each attempt and whether the ball reached its target inside or outside the hashes, though the stats listed include yards gained after the catch on each completion.)

Julian Sayin

In the first half, Sayin showed why he is considered the favorite by many to be Ohio State's starting quarterback this fall. He completed 14-of-20 passes for 165 yards in the first two quarters of the game, compared to Kienholz and St. Clair who attempted 20 passes combined before halftime.

Early on, the 6-foot-1, 203-pound quarterback seemed to struggle at times feeling pressure from his blind side but as the game went on, he did a great job of stepping up (or around) to escape pressure before slinging the ball to a receiver.

"I thought Julian for the most part early on was in rhythm and moved the team down the field for a couple touchdowns, which was good," Day said after the game. "Made some nice throws. There's certainly a lot to grow from and this is why we did this.

"But good to see him respond the way he did and rebound from a couple of practices early on. Yeah, there's no question. Again, not just the talent, it's the experience."

Sayin led three first-half touchdown drives, but it was this pass to Mylan Graham that was likely the sophomore's best throw of the day.

The next play, Sayin swapped zip for touch on this throw to TE Jelani Thurman.

Sayin floated the pass out of the reach of true freshman LB Riley Pettijohn. pic.twitter.com/OLzFEJAGKX

— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) April 12, 2025

Also, while this was an incompletion, this deep throw from Sayin to Graham was a very well-thrown ball that was perfectly defended and broken up by Lorenzo Styles Jr.

Pretty darn good toss from Julian Sayin under pressure on 3rd-and-17. He gave WR Mylan Graham a chance downfield, but CB Lorenzo Styles Jr. got in there for the PBU.

Also: Peep LB-turned-DE C.J. Hicks wrapping around the edge to put some heat on Sayin before the throw. pic.twitter.com/B3CPYQnVkG

— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) April 12, 2025

While he only completed 2-of-5 passes for 13 yards in the second half of the game, as Kienholz and St. Clair received a bulk of the snaps after halftime, Sayin's first-half performance was enough for him to end the spring on a positive note.

With so many reps in a game-like situation for the first time as a Buckeye, the No. 1-ranked quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class showcased passes and traits to support that ranking, even if his day wasn’t perfect.

Lincoln Kienholz

Kienholz completed 8-of-13 passes for 70 yards in the first half, which certainly wasn't a bad start. But he had a perfect second half as he completed all five of his passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns, which was quite impressive.

The 6-foot-3, 207-pounder also showed off his dual-threat ability at times, especially in the RPO game, a major part of his game where he's able to showcase his athletic ability as a quarterback.

Much like Sayin, Kienholz's best throw of the game was an incompletion. He had a near-touchdown pass to Jelani Thurman that was broken up by Jaylen McClain but was placed exactly where it needed to be for Thurman to have a chance to catch it.

Kienholz nearly tossed a TD pass to cap the drive, but safety Jaylen McClain broke it up in the end zone.

Kienholz put it where TE Jelani Thurman could have caught it, though. Just a better defensive play.

OSU ended up settling for a FG. pic.twitter.com/husAsshk2M

— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) April 12, 2025

Kienholz will continue to compete with Sayin to be Ohio State's starting quarterback through the summer and into fall camp.

Tavien St. Clair

It's a two-horse race to be Ohio State's starting quarterback in 2025, but what St. Clair did Saturday afternoon in the Shoe should still get Ohio State fans excited for his future as a Buckeye.

At times, St. Clair had some really bad throws, especially early on as he threw two interceptions in the first half. At other times, he showcased his arm talent and the reasons he was the No. 3-ranked quarterback in 2025 class. St. Clair should be going to prom rather than participating in Ohio State's spring game, but he didn’t look out of place in the Shoe on Saturday.

All of that is to say that the 6-foot-4, 225-pound quarterback has an impressive arm paired with the type of athleticism that will eventually make him a lethal dual-threat quarterback. It will just take the freshman some time to put all of that together at the college level.

St. Clair settled in during the second half, completing 10-of-12 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown after halftime.